How many people will cross your path today? in your normal circle of influence how many will they number? What will their diversities be, their afflictions, their tragedies? Will you see their troubles in the way they walk, their loneliness, their rejections or frustrations? When you look into their eyes, will you see their hurt, feel their destruction or know how close to the edge they really are?

What will be the signs, will it be the smiles on their faces, or their heartiness and zest for life? Chances are the façade they maintain will be as undetected as the turmoil that bubbles beneath the surface.

People walk on the verge of eruption a large portion of time. Thankfully most of us find an outlet, gain control over our panic and maintain a level headed approach to what we are doing. But one of the things we can consciously do to maintain the norm is in the way we approach each other. Of course the Bible offers us the best advice on how to do that…

King David writes in the book of Psalm,(c25v16) “turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflict.” Other Bible translations use the words distress and trouble, lonely and desolate. These words help paint the complete picture. If we don’t understand the meaning of the word afflicted in our lives, we can use the word troubled or distressed, bothered, worried or upset to help us better understand.

Life becomes hard to manage at times. We struggle with bills and deadlines, our plans go awry our ideas get smashed and we can be left agonizing or too paralyzed to move. It can be a dizzying array of converging facts that stifles our ability to make cognizant sense of what we do.

But if we follow the conditions set forth in this verse, to look at those we encounter with graciousness, if we treat each other with a healthy understanding and respect then we are doing our part to prevent the overflow of negative emotions. If we approach each other with the care that this verse implies, we can prevent ourselves from being an extension of issues and offer help to those who need it.